Zcash (ZEC) slid towards $1,000 on Tuesday, shedding roughly 12 to 14 per cent intraday and briefly touching a low near $999.57, its weakest level since early September.

The privacy-focused token has now fallen about 41 per cent from its 2026 peak of $1,695, reached on 26 September, as a wave of leveraged selling swept through crypto derivatives markets.

Forced selling drives the slide

Data from CoinGlass showed more than $16.5 million in Zcash liquidations over a 24-hour window, with leveraged long positions accounting for about 88 per cent of the wiped-out trades. As the price slipped below support near $1,050 to $1,030, automated margin liquidations added to the selling pressure.

Institutional selling has also weighed on the token. The Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZCSH) has recorded more than $15 million in net outflows in November, following $46.25 million in October, with redemptions forcing sales of the underlying coins.

Upgrade and ad campaign fail to lift price

The drop came just days after the Zcash network completed its scheduled Network Upgrade 7 (NU7) on 6 November, and on the same day Grayscale announced a $1 million pledge to the Zcash ecosystem alongside a national advertising campaign. Neither development cushioned the price.

Hotter-than-expected US inflation added to the pressure. October consumer prices rose 0.4 per cent month on month, above the 0.3 per cent forecast, lifting expectations of a Federal Reserve rate rise in December. The CME FedWatch tool put the chance of a quarter-point December hike at about 90 per cent.

Zcash was trading near $1,020 on Wednesday morning. Traders are now watching whether the $1,000 level holds, with the 200-day moving average near $880 the next focus if it gives way. Despite the slide, the token remains sharply higher in 2026 overall.